Tsunami Sea is the second full-length effort from Canada’s Spiritbox. Opening track “Fata Morgana”, which has been circulating for some time, starts with crunching riffs and deep growls from lead singer Courtney LaPlante before going into more atmospheric and melodious moments.
The album arrives in Australia as our Queensland friends are on high alert for dangerous seas, cyclones and flooding. We wish them all the best.
The album has already received praise from around the world, with Bring Me The Horizon frontman Ollie Sykes praising their ability to craft a metal album without chasing trends. In his post, he uses the background of the album cover, a simple outline of an island, with the words “Tsunami Sea” written upside down.
There are some industrial sounds every now and then through the album, even harking back to early Fear Factory days, though they blend quite a range of sounds across the various metal sub-genres.
The title track, “Tsunami Sea” takes a softer note and screams out hit single with an earworm of a chorus. The album has a top-notch production thanks to Dan Braunstein and the band’s own Mike Stringer. There is the possibility that sometimes the production sounds too clean and the band may not be able to reproduce these moments live.
There was some controversy around the song “Crystal Roses”, with the song appearing on streaming platforms ahead of the band’s wishes. There seem to be some various effects on the vocals on this one and it’s probably my least favourite of the album.
Speaking of singles, the band has been feeding fans for some time, with the bouncy “Soft Spine”, “Perfect Soul” and most recently “No Loss, No Love” already being released. “No Loss, No Love” reflects the title with a direct entry into heavy territory.
Throughout the album there is a balance between the heavy and light – not only within LaPlante’s vocals, but in the movements of the band. Former As I Lay Dying man Josh Gilbert keeps a steady presence on the bass, while Stringer impresses with his guitar work across the album.
As we have various surfers riding the waves of the oncoming storm on the Gold Coast, the track “Ride the Wave” starts out sounding like it could belong directly in the pop charts, but finishes with infernal growling before coming back into clear air with a resounding version of the chorus.
As for a sound, these one-time bear wrestlers have been influenced by a range of sounds across the heavy music spectrum. They recently shared the stage with Korn and Gojira and have been embarking on more of their own headline tours.
“Deep End” closes out the album with some strongly held notes across the song. It’s more of a radio rock hit rather than the epics that you find with some album closers. Overall the album has a good flow to it, mixing the bouncing beats along with moments of pure heaviness with droplets of atmospherics and industrial influences.
To be honest, I haven’t followed much of Spiritbox’s career so far, but know many people who arrived early at the Knotfest of a couple of years ago to catch a glimpse of them. LaPlante’s brush with fame on the Grammy red carpet where she played it cool when mis-identified as Poppy and stayed in character through the interview has certainly captured further attention.
This is only the second album for Spiritbox, I’m sure they have many more to offer in their career and will continue building from this point. Surely they are also due for a headline Australian tour.
Spiritbox: Facebook
Release Year: 2025
Label: Rise Records
Category: Album
Country: Canada
Reviewed by Daniel Boyle
